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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26171581">imperfections</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/yaoyorozoops/pseuds/yaoyorozoops'>yaoyorozoops</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>AU-gust 2020 [15]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Owl House (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - High School, Always Human AU, Bioaugmentation, F/F, Tutoring</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 03:40:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,002</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26171581</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/yaoyorozoops/pseuds/yaoyorozoops</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Luz the new girl is having trouble in school, and Amity wants to find out why.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Amity Blight/Luz Noceda</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>AU-gust 2020 [15]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1862572</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>91</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>imperfections</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This AU is based on the Webtoon Always Human by Ari North.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Amity hadn’t noticed her the first few days. It seemed like Luz had just appeared there, out of nowhere, in the middle of a sea of people she’d known since diapers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She didn’t act like anyone she knew, not by a long shot. She was frenzied and clumsy, while still maintaining the most cheery demeanor. Most of all, she didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>look</span>
  </em>
  <span> like anyone Amity knew. Her hair was short and brown, unusual nowadays. Her face was plain and had plenty of imperfections, also very unusual. (Amity herself got appearance mods similar to her siblings: green hair, pointed ears, glittery facial features. It made her look stunning, Luz thought.) But as soon as she saw this new girl, Amity was intrigued and infatuated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hi, I’m Luz.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amity jumped, realizing the girl had approached her. “I’m Amity,” she responded, now excited to get a closer look at this unusual girl. As Luz left, it occurred to Amity she was probably only introducing herself, though she wanted to talk to that girl for hours more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She headed out of class and went home, but all she could think of was Luz.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>The next day, she studied in every class, trying to get that girl out of her mind. For some reason, Luz had been invisible to her before. But now she’d seen her once, she couldn’t take her eyes off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t long before Amity started noticing something happening with Luz. Instead of listening to the instructor, she would write notes on a tablet. During tests, she had long pauses where she would stare intensely at the paper, look around the room, and nibble a bit on her pen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After school, Amity talked to Luz for the second time. “Hey, uh…” she ticked her pen anxiously, cheeks flushing, “Are you okay? I’ve seen you be distracted lately, and… do you need a more updated mod? I--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luz smirked back, “Nope!” Hints of a darker attitude that Amity was surprised to see bled through Luz’s expression, but she hid them. She was used to hiding.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, what’s going on?” Amity’s curiosity was overwhelming.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Luz thought of a way to answer that didn’t truly give an answer, she shuffled her feet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t have to tell me,” Amity said, catching onto Luz’s body language.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luz took a deep breath, and Amity was stunned by her unique beauty once more as she saw tears start to pour from her eyes. “I have Egan’s Syndrome.” Her breath caught as she finally forced herself to say it, and she tried blinking away her tears. “I can’t use mods.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Luz said it, Amity couldn’t quite believe it. A gasp escaped her lips her stomach twisting with guilt. “I- I’m sorry, it was so insensitive of me--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine. Plent of people ask about it. The reason I was caught off guard is,” </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’re absolutely beautiful and I can’t think straight,</span>
  </em>
  <span> “I’m new here, you’re really the first person I’ve talked to who I didn’t meet online.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two stood for a few seconds, each of their minds racing with questions to ask each other. Instead, Luz smiled and waved ‘goodbye’. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“See ya.”</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>A few days passed. Amity interacted with Luz sparingly, but enough to develop a full-on crush. Not only because she would stare in class at her unique features -- she especially loved the way her eyes creased when she smiled-- but because Luz was hard to ignore. The fidgeting she did brought attention to her, in a good way, and it was endearing to Amity. And anytime the two would talk, Amity was not able to keep her mouth from running off nonsensically.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Two weeks after she’d first noticed Luz, Amity decided to ask her out. Unfortunately, she wasn’t very experienced with dating, nor was she good at talking to Luz in general.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Luz, uh, can I talk you you…?” she said, trying her best not to stutter.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure thing, Amity!” She stopped for a bit, gesturing to her friends to keep walking on without her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amity’s thoughts raced by, away from her mind. She tried to grab them, remember what she was supposed to say, but she could only catch a few. “Luz… wanna, uh, come over?” Too bad there was no mod for knowing how to speak to your crush.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luz crumpled up her face in confusion. “Come over where?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well... “ Amity was starting to regain a bit of confidence and mental faculties, “My house?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure!” She tapped her chin a bit, “What for?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amity tapped her foot, still not remembering the right words. “To help you… with school…” She backed down. Maybe if she couldn’t work up the courage to ask Luz out, they could at least be friends first.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That sounds like fun! Count me in.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amity stopped for a second, thinking she was a bit victorious. But Luz was still there, waiting for something. “Oh! At 5:00 tomorrow?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“See you then,” Luz smiled, catching up with her friends.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Utterly defeated, Amity stood, feeling like an idiot. </span>
  <em>
    <span>At least it’s something.</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Amity showed up at 4:45, her arms shaking too much to reach for the doorknob. Instead, she took a seat on the front steps of Luz’s house, placing her hands on her knees to stop them from bouncing. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Take a deep breath, Amity.</span>
  </em>
  <span> So she did. And another, and another, just like she’d learned to do before. Maybe if this kept getting worse she’d have to get an anti-anxiety mod. Once her breathing was back to normal, she stayed for a few moments, psyching herself up to knock on the door and--</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Amity?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“OH--What? Hi, I just was sitting-- I didn’t--” Amity jolted up from the stairs and spun around, defensively waving her hands around.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luz laughed at the way Amity was acting and waved her in. “Come on in, I won’t bite,” She gave her warm shining smile, and Amity was hit with an embarrassing pain in her chest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As she stepped into Luz’s home, it gave her a cottage feel: small, a tiny bit cluttered with objects that just screamed </span>
  <em>
    <span>home</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Books strewn about, old papers stacked in certain spaces, pictures from various times and places hung on the walls. It comforted Amity in a strange way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sit down, Luz pointed to an area in what could only be her room that had been prepared as a study area around her desk.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amity sat exactly where she was instructed, Luz following close behind. She never moved her eyes away from Luz as she picked each book and folder from her backpack. “What subject did you need help with?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luz put a hand to her chin, feigning thoughtfulness. “What subject are you best at?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amity looked up, confused. “Do you not need a tutor,” she said, quieter than before.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luz burst into laughter at the implication. “I… always need a tutor. But there’s not a specific subject that’s worse than the others.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Widening her eyes as she realized yet another insensitive thing she said, Amity played with the hem of her skirt nervously. “I’m sorry if--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luz was still laughing but stopped when she heard the apology. “I’m not bothered by it.” She got a shining gleam of confidence in her eyes as she spoke. “I’m going to learn as much as I can, and I’m going to be the best student I can be.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amity’s smiled widened in awe at the sight of this girl, so confident and brazen it gave her an almost intimidating air. “Okay,” she managed to say, pulling out her pen and paper and glancing over to Luz’s books. “I’m best at math, so. I guess I’ll help you with that.” She picked up the book and found that Luz was a year behind her in math. For a second she felt a bit of pity: no one was ever behind enough to need a different year of math. But the second faded, and she realized it was better to tutor a peer in a subject she already fully knew.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s the hardest part about Algebra?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luz thought for a moment, this time genuinely. “Memorizing the formulas, probably.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Makes sense,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Amity thought and continued trying to help without losing her nerve.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minutes passed successfully, and Luz felt like she was actually learning something, which was quite rare during classes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks for helping me,” Luz said, smiling. “It feels nice to work at home again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amity quirked her head, confused.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, sorry. Did you not know I was homeschooled?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amity shook her head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luz leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms outward. “Yeah, I’ve been homeschooled since, like forever. It’s been a bit odd adjusting to ‘real school’. At least I knew Willow and Gus.” Her cheery demeanor softened to something softer, more genuine as she said, “And I have you.” A smirk appeared of her lips, and she laughed it off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that point, Amity’s blush meter was off the charts. Trying to casually cover her face, she replied. “I didn’t know people still had school at home.” More questions were on her lips, but out of respect, she refused to let them slip out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go ahead, you can ask about it,” Luz said, more intuitive than she seemed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amity almost jumped, her jitteriness returning and her legs bounding in place. “Okay… What is it like?” Her voice dipped to almost inaudible.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luz turned her body in her chair to face Amity more directly, their studying abandoned at this point. “It’s like… I guess it’s bittersweet. I can never improve myself like other people can, but there’s something good about not using mods. Like, I can show everyone that I can still do everything and we don’t always need all this technology to be ourselves, you know?” Luz’s smile was genuine, and Amity was surprised at her answer. But she continued. “There’s just one thing-- no, it’s stupid.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” Amity wasn’t going to let her get away with teasing the answer from her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just…” Luz leaned in closer to Amity, eyes glistening with small bits of pain. “You’re so beautiful. I just wish I could choose how I look, like you do.” Just as Amity was at the maximum level of embarrassment, Luz leaned back, feigning a laugh. “I told you it was stupid.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” Amity sighed, pulling on her green hair nervously. “What would you change about yourself?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luz thought for a moment, but it seemed like she’d already decided her answer to this question long ago. She reaching into her bag, pulling out a book. “I would look more like her,” she said, pointing to the character on the cover.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amity reached for the book, picking it out of Luz’s hand and reading the synopsis. The picture on the cover comforted her for some reason, and she knew instantly she wanted to read it. “Can I borrow this?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh-- what? Why?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“To read it!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luz placed her bag back on the ground, tapping her fingers thoughtfully. “Yeah, I guess so. It’s an amazing book!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Even though she’d been absolutely frightened at the beginning, Amity was starting to loosen up. She knew nothing about Luz or her syndrome, but she was sure she needed to learn everything. And she realized her heart rate had gone down, her legs weren’t shaking anymore, and she could finally breathe. “Thanks for having me over, Luz.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luz gave her a huge smile back and started to lead Amity to the door. “You’re the one that helped me.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amity stopped in the threshold of Luz’s front door, leaning against the jamb. “I know I was the one tutoring you, but I learned a lot today. Maybe we can hang out again soon?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure,” Luz returned, her smile as big and shining as ever. “I hope we can become great friends!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It hurt Amity to hear ‘friends’ but to her surprise, it didn’t defeat her spirits. As long as she had Luz, it didn’t matter how.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry this is so late, I didn't know how to end it and still don't sjdfks. I wanted to elaborate on this AU a lot more but I had no motivation. Maybe I'll do a longer fic about it because I love the concept. Also, it's been a while since I read Always Human so sorry if I forgot some details about it.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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